Petrobras plans to address results delay, graft allegations

RIO DE JANEIRO Nov 17 (Reuters) - Brazil's embattled
state-run oil company Petroleo Brasileiro SA will
address on Monday its failure to release its audited
third-quarter financial results due to a widening corruption
scandal that has caused its shares to fall

The company will speak with investors and analysts and then
meet with reporters starting at 11 a.m. (1300 GMT). On Thursday,
the company announced it would delay earnings, which under
Brazilian regulatory deadlines had to be released before the
weekend.

Petrobras also said it hired private law firms to
investigate allegations of money laundering.

On Friday, Brazilian federal police arrested a former top
executive of Petrobras and senior leaders of powerful Brazilian
construction and engineering companies as part of what they call
"Operation Car Wash," a sweeping probe into money-laundering,
bribery and campaign-finance-related graft.

Petrobras' preferred shares, the company's
most-traded class of stock, fell 3 percent on Friday and are
down 18 percent this year.

The scandal has also rocked President Dilma Rousseff's
recently reelected government since prosecutors say millions of
dollars of misappropriated money was funneled to her Workers'
Party and other politicians.

Rousseff was the chairwoman of the Petrobras board of
directors for seven years through 2010, when much of the alleged
corruption took place. While she has denied any role in the
wrongdoing and is not facing charges, the scandal could further
weaken her government at a time when it is also facing a slowing
economy and falling investor confidence.

Analysts and traders warn that potential corruption-related
write-downs could lead to Petrobras being stripped of its
investment-grade credit rating.
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